Commenting in shared folder backed integrated workspaces

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for shared folder backed integrated workspaces. In some implementations, a content management system can provide a graphical user interface (GUI) that integrates communications and content management into a single user interface. The user interface can include mechanisms that allow a user to provide input to generate a new workspace. The user interface can provide a mechanism to allow a user to view conversations related to the workspace and/or content items associated with the workspace. The user interface can present representations of content items associated with the workspace and allow the user to provide input to generate, view, edit, and share content items associated with the workspace.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/136,871, filed on Mar. 23, 2015, which ishereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology pertains to content management systems, and morespecifically pertains to integrated collaborative environments.

BACKGROUND

Employees of modern companies use many different software tools toperform a variety of job functions. E-mail, instant messaging, chat, andtext (SMS) messaging are all used to communicate with coworkers andproject teammates. Different file systems (e.g., local machine drives,network drives, cloud storage, etc.) are used to keep track ofdocuments, media items, and other content items that are necessary forperforming work or that are the result of work. Different applicationsare used to view, create, and edit the various content items used byemployees during the workday. While this variety of communicationmechanisms, digital storage locations, and productivity applicationsadds flexibility to the work environment, it also adds complexity andinefficiency when the employee needs to figure out how to communicatewith coworkers, where work related content items are located, and whichapplications are needed to view, create and edit the various contentitems (documents, files, images, media, etc.) that are necessary forperforming the employee's job functions.

SUMMARY

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forthin the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosedprinciples. The features and advantages of the disclosure can berealized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and otherfeatures of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from thefollowing description and appended claims, or can be learned by thepractice of the principles set forth herein.

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readablestorage media for shared folder backed integrated workspaces. In someimplementations, a content management system can provide a graphicaluser interface (GUI) that integrates communications and contentmanagement into a single user interface. The user interface can includemechanisms that allow a user to provide input to generate a newworkspace. The user interface can provide a mechanism to allow a user toview conversations related to the workspace and/or content itemsassociated with the workspace. The user interface can presentrepresentations of content items associated with the workspace and allowthe user to provide input to generate, view, edit, and share contentitems associated with the workspace.

In some implementations, an online shared folder of a content managementsystem can serve as a repository for content items and messagesassociated with the workspace represented by the graphical userinterface. For example, the messages, comments, or other communicationspresented on the workspace GUI can be stored in the online shared folderand synced with a local shared folder on a user's client device. Thecontent items discussed, shared, created and/or edited through theworkspace GUI can be stored in the shared folder. The shared folder canbe shared with members (e.g., users, employees, project teammates, etc.)of the workspace. For example, the messages, content items, and otherobjects stored in one user's local copy of the online shared folder onthe user's device can be synchronized with other users' local sharedfolders on the other users' devices. In some implementations, theworkspace GUI can be generated based on the contents of the onlineand/or local shared folder. For example, the workspace GUI can representthe contents (e.g., messages, content items, etc.) of the online and/orlocal shared folder.

In some implementations, a user can create a new content item using abrowser interface to an online content management system. The user canspecify the type of content item (e.g., document) to create and a namefor the content item. The content item type and name can be sent to thecontent management system. The content management system can storetemplates corresponding to each type of document that can be created.Upon receipt of the request to create the new content item, the contentmanagement system can copy the template corresponding to the requestedcontent item type, rename the template copy to the specified name andsave the new content item to the users folder on the content managementsystem. The online folder can then be synchronized with correspondingfolders on the user's device. The user can access the new content itemfrom the local folder to view and edit the new content item.

In some implementations, when an authorized user is accessing a contentitem in the workspace through a web browser on a client device, the webbrowser can recognize that the user has a local version of the contentitem in a local folder (e.g., corresponding to the online shared folder)on the client device and present an option to the user allowing the userto select a preview (e.g., web delivered image) version of the contentitem or select to open the local version of the content item in a nativeapplication on the client device. When the user selects to open thelocal version of the content item in the native application, the usercan edit the content item and all changes will be automatically syncedback to the online shared folder.

In some implementations, the workspace can integrate email and workspacemessaging (e.g., chat) features so that workspace members can use emailand workspace messaging interchangeably. The workspace can be assigned aworkspace email address (email mailing list). Emails addressed to/fromthe workspace email address can be obtained (e.g., from user's emailaccount, from email server, etc.) and workspace chat messages can begenerated for each email address and added to the workspace messagestream. When an authorized user generates a workspace chat message, anemail corresponding to the workspace chat message (e.g., including themessage content) can be generated and sent to subscribers (e.g.,authorized users of the shared folder) to the workspace email mailinglist.

In some implementations, email messages sent to a mail list associatedwith the shared folder can be transformed into workspace (e.g., chatstream) messages. When email messages contain attachments, theattachments can be stripped from the email messages, stored in theshared folder and the message can be presented in the message stream onthe workspace user interface with a link to the attachment stored in theonline shared folder.

In some implementations, email messages associated with content itemscan be inserted into the content items as comments. For example, if anemail includes a content item attachment, the body (text) of the emailmessage can be inserted into the content item as a comment. If an emailrefers to a content time, or is in an email thread associated with acontent item, then the email can be inserted into the content item as acomment. The comments inserted into a content item can be presented on auser interface when the user views the content item.

In some implementations, a user can select a content item, uponselection an options user interface can be displayed where the user canselect a “discuss” option. When the user selects the discuss option, thecontent item can be presented in a new message in the message stream andthe user can enter a message to start a conversation (e.g., messagethread) about the selected content item.

In some implementations, comments in native document (e.g., worddocument comments) or previews (e.g., metadata) are added to theworkspace message stream as conversations about the content item. Whenedits are made to content items, a new message can be generated toindicate what changes were made and the new message can be added to themessage stream or to a message thread corresponding to the content item.

In some implementations, when a user adds a content item to a workspacemessage (e.g., a chat post), the content item is automatically added tothe shared folder for the workspace and synchronized with the clientdevices of authorized users of the shared folder. In someimplementations, adding the content item to the chat message or post cantrigger (e.g., initiate) synchronization of the content item with theclient devices of workspace members.

In some implementations, conversations specific to a content item acrossdifferent conversation modes (e.g., email, workspace messaging, chat,text message, etc.) can be aggregated and associated with the contentitem. The user can then view all conversations specific to the contentitem in a single location. For example, a user could click on a contentitem to trigger a conversation view of the content item. In theconversation view the user will see all conversations specific to thatcontent item (e.g., from email, chat, comments in documents, etc.).

In some implementations, a workspace user interface can present amessage stream (e.g., messages from various users arranged in timeorder). The message stream can include individual messages and threadedmessages. Threaded messages can be, for example, multiple relatedmessages (e.g., original message, reply message, reply to reply) in aconversation. When an individual message is received, the defaultbehavior of the message stream can be to scroll existing messages andadd the new message. However, when a user is interacting with anexisting message or message thread (e.g., hovering a cursor over anexisting message, entering a reply to an existing message), thescrolling behavior is stopped (e.g., the message stream is frozen) whilethe user interacts with the existing message or message thread. Once theuser stops interacting with the existing message, the scrolling behaviorof the message stream can be resumed.

In some implementations, a workspace member can mention an external userin a workspace message. The online content management system candetermine that an external user has been mentioned, obtain contactinformation for the external user, and send the chat message to theexternal user using a communication mechanism identified in the externaluser's contact information (e.g., email, text message, sms message,etc.). The external user can reply to the chat message using the samecommunication mechanism. When the external user's reply is received bythe content management system, the content management system cangenerate a chat message that includes the content of the external user'sreply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above recited and other advantages and features of the disclosurewill become apparent by reference to specific embodiments thereof thatare illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only example embodiments of the disclosure and are nottherefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principlesherein are described and explained with additional specificity anddetail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system configuration forimplementing shared folder backed integrated workspaces;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system for providing sharedfolder backed integrated workspaces;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example workspace graphical user interface;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example system for creating a newcontent item in a workspace;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example client process for generating anew content item in a workspace;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example server process for generating anew content item in a workspace;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a system for integrating emailinto a shared folder backed integrated workspace;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example server process for converting anemail into a workspace message;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example client process for converting aworkspace message into email messages;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example server process for converting aworkspace message into an email;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example workspace graphical user interface forgenerating a discussion about a content item;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example workspace graphical user interface forviewing comments related to a content item in a workspace;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of an example process for generating anddisplaying comments for a content item;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an example process 1400 for creatingconversations around a content item;

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of an example process 1500 for sendingworkspace messages to external users;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of an example process 1600 for presenting chatand threaded conversations in the same graphical user interface;

FIG. 17A shows an example possible system embodiment for implementingvarious embodiments of the present technology; and

FIG. 17B shows an example possible system embodiment for implementingvarious embodiments of the present technology.

DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below.While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understoodthat this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that other components and configurationsmay be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The disclosed technology addresses the need in the art for an integratedcollaborative workspace that provides a single user interface tocommunicate with coworkers, generate and access work product (e.g.,files, media, documents, digital content items, etc.), and access thesoftware applications that are necessary to conduct business in themodern world.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system configuration 100 forimplementing shared folder backed integrated workspaces, whereinelectronic devices communicate through a network for purposes ofexchanging content and other data. The system can be configured for useon a wide area network such as that illustrated in FIG. 1. However, thepresent principles are applicable to a wide variety of networkconfigurations that facilitate the intercommunication of electronicdevices. For example, each of the components of system 100 in FIG. 1 canbe implemented in a localized or distributed fashion in a network.

In system 100, a user can interact with content management system 106through client devices 102 ₁, 102 ₂, . . . , 102 _(n) (collectively“102”) connected to network 104 by direct and/or indirect communication.Content management system 106 can support connections from a variety ofdifferent client devices, such as desktop computers; mobile computers;mobile communications devices, e.g. mobile phones, smart phones,tablets; smart televisions; set-top boxes; and/or any other networkenabled computing devices. Client devices 102 can be of varying type,capabilities, operating systems, etc. Furthermore, content managementsystem 106 can concurrently accept connections from and interact withmultiple client devices 102.

A user can interact with content management system 106 through aclient-side application installed on client device 102 _(i). In someembodiments, the client-side application can include a contentmanagement system specific component. For example, the component can bea stand-alone application, one or more application plug-ins, and/or abrowser extension. However, the user can also interact with contentmanagement system 106 through a third-party application, such as a webbrowser, that resides on client device 102 _(i) and is configured tocommunicate with content management system 106. In either case, theclient-side application can present a user interface (UI) for the userto interact with content management system 106. For example, the usercan interact with the content management system 106 through aclient-side application integrated with the file system or through awebpage displayed using a web browser application.

Content management system 106 can make it possible for a user to storecontent, as well as perform a variety of content management tasks, suchas retrieve, modify, browse, and/or share the content. Furthermore,content management system 106 can make it possible for a user to accessthe content from multiple client devices 102. For example, client device102 _(i) can upload content to content management system 106 throughnetwork 104. The content can later be retrieved from content managementsystem 106 using the same client device 102 _(i) or some other clientdevice 102 _(j).

To facilitate the various content management services, a user can createan account with content management system 106. The account informationcan be maintained in user account database 150. User account database150 can store profile information for registered users. In some cases,the only personal information in the user profile can be a usernameand/or email address. However, content management system 106 can also beconfigured to accept additional user information.

User account database 150 can also include account managementinformation, such as account type, e.g. free or paid; usage information,e.g. file edit history; maximum storage space authorized; storage spaceused; content storage locations; security settings; personalconfiguration settings; content sharing data; etc. Account managementmodule 124 can be configured to update and/or obtain user accountdetails in user account database 150. The account management module 124can be configured to interact with any number of other modules incontent management system 106.

An account can be used to store content, such as digital data,documents, text files, audio files, video files, etc., from one or moreclient devices 102 authorized on the account. The content can alsoinclude folders or other mechanisms of grouping content items togetherwith different behaviors, such as collections, playlists, albums, etc.For example, an account can include a public folder that is accessibleto any user. The public folder can be assigned a web-accessible address.A link to the web-accessible address can be used to access the contentsof the public folder. In another example, an account can include aphotos folder that is intended for photos and that provides specificattributes and actions tailored for photos; an audio folder thatprovides the ability to play back audio files and perform other audiorelated actions; or other special purpose folders. An account can alsoinclude shared folders or group folders that are linked with andavailable to multiple user accounts. The permissions for multiple usersmay be different for a shared folder. For example, the permissionssettings associated with a shared folder can indicate that only certainusers (e.g., users associated with a business, project team, workspace,etc.) can access the shared folder.

The content can be stored in content storage 160. Content storage 160can be a storage device, multiple storage devices, or a server.Alternatively, content storage 160 can be a cloud storage provider ornetwork storage accessible through one or more communications networks.Content management system 106 can hide the complexity and details fromclient devices 102 so that client devices 102 do not need to knowexactly where the content items are being stored by content managementsystem 106. In one variation, content management system 106 can storethe content items in the same folder hierarchy as they appear on clientdevice 102 _(i). However, content management system 106 can store thecontent items in its own order, arrangement, or hierarchy. Contentmanagement system 106 can store the content items in a networkaccessible storage (SAN) device, in a redundant array of inexpensivedisks (RAID), etc. Content storage 160 can store content items using oneor more partition types, such as FAT, FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, EXT3, EXT4,ReiserFS, BTRFS, and so forth.

Content storage 160 can also store metadata describing content items,content item types, and the relationship of content items to variousaccounts, folders, or groups. The metadata for a content item can bestored as part of the content item or can be stored separately. In onevariation, each content item stored in content storage 160 can beassigned a system-wide unique identifier.

Content storage 160 can decrease the amount of storage space required byidentifying duplicate files or duplicate segments of files. Instead ofstoring multiple copies, content storage 160 can store a single copy andthen use a pointer or other mechanism to link the duplicates to thesingle copy. Similarly, content storage 160 can store files moreefficiently, as well as provide the ability to undo operations, by usinga file version control that tracks changes to files, different versionsof files (including diverging version trees), and a change history. Thechange history can include a set of changes that, when applied to theoriginal file version, produce the changed file version.

Content management system 106 can be configured to support automaticsynchronization of content from one or more client devices 102. Thesynchronization can be platform agnostic. That is, the content can besynchronized across multiple client devices 102 of varying type,capabilities, operating systems, etc. For example, client device 102_(i) can include client software, which synchronizes, through asynchronization module 132 at content management system 106, content inclient device 102 _(i)'s file system with the content in an associateduser account. In some cases, the client software can synchronize anychanges to content in a designated folder and its sub-folders, such asnew, deleted, modified, copied, or moved files or folders. The clientsoftware can be a separate software application, can integrate with anexisting content management application in the operating system, or somecombination thereof. In one example of client software that integrateswith an existing content management application, a user can manipulatecontent directly in a local folder, while a background process monitorsthe local folder for changes and synchronizes those changes to contentmanagement system 106. Conversely, the background process can identifycontent that has been updated at content management system 106 andsynchronize those changes to the local folder. The client software canprovide notifications of synchronization operations, and can provideindications of content statuses directly within the content managementapplication. Sometimes client device 102 _(i) may not have a networkconnection available. In this scenario, the client software can monitorthe linked folder for file changes and queue those changes for latersynchronization to content management system 106 when a networkconnection is available. Similarly, a user can manually stop or pausesynchronization with content management system 106.

A user can also view or manipulate content through a web interfacegenerated and served by user interface module 122. For example, the usercan navigate in a web browser to a web address provided by contentmanagement system 106. Changes or updates to content in the contentstorage 160 made through the web interface, such as uploading a newversion of a file, can be propagated back to other client devices 102associated with the user's account. For example, multiple client devices102, each with their own client software, can be associated with asingle account and files in the account can be synchronized between eachof the multiple client devices 102.

Content management system 106 can include a communications interface 120for interfacing with various client devices 102, and can interact withother content and/or service providers 109 ₁, 109 ₂, . . . , 109 _(n)(collectively “109”) through an Application Programming Interface (API).Certain software applications can access content storage 160 through anAPI on behalf of a user. For example, a software package, such as an appon a smartphone or tablet computing device, can programmatically makecalls directly to content management system 106, when a user providescredentials, to read, write, create, delete, share, or otherwisemanipulate content. Similarly, the API can allow users to access all orpart of content storage 160 through a web site.

Content management system 106 can also include authenticator module 126,which can verify user credentials, security tokens, API calls, specificclient devices, and so forth, to ensure only authorized clients andusers can access files. Further, content management system 106 caninclude analytics module 134 that can track and report on aggregate fileoperations, user actions, network usage, total storage space used, aswell as other technology, usage, or business metrics. A privacy and/orsecurity policy can prevent unauthorized access to user data stored withcontent management system 106.

Content management system 106 can include sharing module 130 formanaging sharing content publicly or privately. Sharing content publiclycan include making the content item accessible from any computing devicein network communication with content management system 106. Sharingcontent privately can include linking a content item in content storage160 with two or more user accounts so that each user account has accessto the content item. The sharing can be performed in a platform agnosticmanner. That is, the content can be shared across multiple clientdevices 102 of varying type, capabilities, operating systems, etc. Thecontent can also be shared across varying types of user accounts.

In some embodiments, content management system 106 can be configured tomaintain a content directory identifying the location of each contentitem in content storage 160. The content directory can include a uniquecontent entry for each content item stored in the content storage.

A content entry can include a content path that can be used to identifythe location of the content item in a content management system. Forexample, the content path can include the name of the content item and afolder hierarchy associated with the content item. For example, thecontent path can include a folder or path of folders in which thecontent item is placed as well as the name of the content item. Contentmanagement system 106 can use the content path to present the contentitems in the appropriate folder hierarchy.

A content entry can also include a content pointer that identifies thelocation of the content item in content storage 160. For example, thecontent pointer can include the exact storage address of the contentitem in memory. In some embodiments, the content pointer can point tomultiple locations, each of which contains a portion of the contentitem.

In addition to a content path and content pointer, a content entry canalso include a user account identifier that identifies the user accountthat has access to the content item. In some embodiments, multiple useraccount identifiers can be associated with a single content entryindicating that the content item has shared access by the multiple useraccounts.

To share a content item privately, sharing module 130 can be configuredto add a user account identifier to the content entry associated withthe content item, thus granting the added user account access to thecontent item. Sharing module 130 can also be configured to remove useraccount identifiers from a content entry to restrict a user account'saccess to the content item.

To share content publicly, sharing module 130 can be configured togenerate a custom network address, such as a uniform resource locator(URL), which allows any web browser to access the content in contentmanagement system 106 without any authentication. To accomplish this,sharing module 130 can be configured to include content identificationdata in the generated URL, which can later be used to properly identifyand return the requested content item. For example, sharing module 130can be configured to include the user account identifier and the contentpath in the generated URL. Upon selection of the URL, the contentidentification data included in the URL can be transmitted to contentmanagement system 106 which can use the received content identificationdata to identify the appropriate content entry and return the contentitem associated with the content entry.

In addition to generating the URL, sharing module 130 can also beconfigured to record that a URL to the content item has been created. Insome embodiments, the content entry associated with a content item caninclude a URL flag indicating whether a URL to the content item has beencreated. For example, the URL flag can be a Boolean value initially setto 0 or false to indicate that a URL to the content item has not beencreated. Sharing module 130 can be configured to change the value of theflag to 1 or true after generating a URL to the content item.

In some embodiments, sharing module 130 can also be configured todeactivate a generated URL. For example, each content entry can alsoinclude a URL active flag indicating whether the content should bereturned in response to a request from the generated URL. For example,sharing module 130 can be configured to only return a content itemrequested by a generated link if the URL active flag is set to 1 ortrue. Thus, access to a content item for which a URL has been generatedcan be easily restricted by changing the value of the URL active flag.This allows a user to restrict access to the shared content item withouthaving to move the content item or delete the generated URL. Likewise,sharing module 130 can reactivate the URL by again changing the value ofthe URL active flag to 1 or true. A user can thus easily restore accessto the content item without the need to generate a new URL.

Content management system 106 can include workspace server 136.Workspace server 136 can be configured to manage shared folder backedworkspaces. For example, workspace server 136 can receiveworkspace-related messages and content items and store the messages andcontent items in a shared folder associated with the workspace.Workspace server 136 can monitor the workspace shared folder and sendstate information describing the current state of the shared folder(e.g., messages, content, etc.) to client devices 102 so that clientdevices 102 can generate and display graphical user interfaces thatallow users to interact with the workspace. For example, workspaceserver 136 can be a webserver that can serve browser-based workspacegraphical user interfaces (e.g., web pages, web applications, etc.) tobrowsers running on user client devices 102. Workspace server 136 can bea server that delivers shared folder state information to workspaceclient applications (e.g., other than a browser) so that the workspaceclient applications can generate a graphical user interface representingthe state of the workspace and/or content in the shared folderassociated with the workspace. The various functions of workspace server136 are described in further detail below.

While content management system 106 is presented with specificcomponents, it should be understood by one skilled in the art, that thearchitectural configuration of system 106 is simply one possibleconfiguration and that other configurations with more or less componentsare also possible.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system 200 for providing sharedfolder backed integrated workspaces. For example, system 200 cancorrespond to system 100 described above. A user of client device 210(e.g., 102 _(i)) can create an account with content management system106. The user can create shared folder 214 associated with contentmanagement system 106 on client device 210. When shared folder 214 iscreated on client device 210, a corresponding shared folder 234 can becreated on server device 230 of content management system 106. The userof client device 210 can share shared folder 214 with a user of clientdevice 240 (e.g., 102 _(j)). Once shared folder 214 is shared with theuser of client device 240, a corresponding shared folder 244 can becreated on client device 240. As described above, content managementsystem 106 can synchronize shared folders 214, 234 and 244 so thatcontent items added, modified, or deleted on one of the shared folders(e.g., shared folder 244) are correspondingly added, modified, ordeleted in the corresponding shared folders (e.g., shared folders 214,234) on other devices.

In some implementations, workspace server 136 can generate a workspacebased on shared folder 234. For example, the user of client device 240can view the contents of shared folder 234 through a web browserinterface to content management system 106, as described above. Whileviewing the contents of shared folder 234 in the browser interfacedisplayed on client device 240, the user can provide input (e.g., selecta graphical element, such as a button or link) to cause workspace server136 to generate a workspace based on shared folder 234 currentlydisplayed on the web browser interface. For example, the web browser onclient device 240 can send a message to workspace server 136 throughnetwork 104 requesting that a workspace be generated based on sharedfolder 234. Workspace server 136 can generate the workspace based onshared folder 234 and send workspace state information to client device240 so that client device 240 can generate and display workspacegraphical user interface 242 (e.g., WS GUI 242). For example, WS GUI 242can be a webpage generated by workspace server 136 and served to a webbrowser running on client device 240. WS GUI 242 can be a graphical userinterface of a native workspace client application running on clientdevice 240. Similarly, a user of client device 210 can request aworkspace based on shared folder 234 and workspace server 136 can sendworkspace state information to client device 210 so that client device210 can generate and display workspace graphical user interface 212 onclient device 210.

In some implementations, WS GUI 212 (or WS GUI 242) can view andinteract with shared folder 234 through workspace server 136. Forexample, a user can provide input to WS GUI 212 to cause WS GUI 212 torequest from workspace server 136 a preview image (e.g., arepresentation of content) of a content item stored in shared folder234. Workspace server 136 can deliver the preview image to WS GUI 212 sothat WS GUI 212 can display the preview image of the content item on adisplay of client device 210. In some implementations, WS GUI 212 caninteract with shared folder 234 by directly accessing correspondingshared folder 214 resident on client device 210. For example, sinceshared folder 214 is synchronized with shared folder 234, the user of WSGUI 212 can view or manipulate shared folder 214 as if it were sharedfolder 234. For example, instead of requesting from workspace server 136a preview image of a content item in shared folder 234, WS GUI 212 canaccess a copy of the content item stored locally in shared folder 214.Thus, sometimes WS GUI 212 will access the local shared folder 214 wheninteracting with a workspace and sometimes WS GUI 212 will requestcontent or state information associated with a workspace (e.g.,associated with shared folder 234) from workspace server 136.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example workspace graphical user interface 300.For example, workspace graphical user interface 300 (e.g., WS GUI 300)can correspond to WS GUI 212 and/or WS GUI 242 of FIG. 2. WS GUI 300 canbe a web page presented in a browser application of client device 102_(i). WS GUI 300 can be a graphical user interface generated by a nativesoftware application running on client device 102 _(i).

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can include a selectable graphicalelement 202 for creating a new workspace. For example, a user can selectgraphical element 302 (e.g., a button, link, etc.) to cause WS GUI 300(e.g., the browser, or native application) to send a message toworkspace server 136 requesting that a new workspace be generated. Theuser can specify (e.g., through a graphical user interface not shown)the name for the new workspace and an email address (e.g., mailing list,group email address, etc.) for the workspace. The message to workspaceserver 136 can include the specified name and email address. Uponreceiving the message, workspace server 136 can generate a shared folder(e.g., shared folder 234) for the workspace and an email account (e.g.,mail list) for the workspace. Workspace server 136 can send workspace(e.g., shared folder) state information to WS GUI 300 for presentationto the user. For example, workspace state information can includeinformation about members of the workspace (e.g., member profiles,online status, etc.), content items in the shared folder, and/ormessages generated by members of the workspace, among other things.

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can include a listing of workspaces304 to which the user belongs. For example, the user of WS GUI 300 maybe a member of multiple workspaces 304 (e.g., Engineering, Marketing,Social, etc.). The user can select one of the workspaces 304 to viewstate information about the selected workspace. In the example WS GUI300, the user has selected the “Engineering” workspace. Thus, WS GUI 300currently presents state information about the Engineering workspace.The workspaces 304 listed on WS GUI 300 can include an indicator tonotify the user when the state of a workspace has changed. For example,the “Marketing” workspace has a dot to the left of the workspace nameindicating that something has changed within the workspace. For example,the change could be that a content item associated with the workspace(e.g., in the corresponding workspace shared folder) has been added,modified, or deleted. The change could be that a new message has beenreceived in the workspace, for example.

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can identify members of thedisplayed workspace. For example, WS GUI 300 can include graphicalelements 306 that represent and/or identify members of the workspaceand/or users who have access to the shared folder associated with theworkspace. For example, each graphical element 306 can present an imagerepresenting a corresponding member of the workspace. The user of WS GUI300 can select a graphical element 306 to view information about thecorresponding member of the workspace. For example, a graphical userinterface can be presented in response to selection of one of thegraphical elements 306 that displays a user profile (e.g., name, contactinformation, online status, etc.) corresponding to the member associatedwith the selected graphical element 306. A graphical element 306 caninclude an online status indicator (e.g., green dot, highlighting, etc.)that indicates that the member corresponding to the graphical element306 is online. For example, when the member is online, graphical element306 will display the online status indicator. When the member isoffline, graphical element 306 will not display the online statusindicator.

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can include graphical element 308for adding a member to the workspace. For example, a user can selectgraphical element 308 to cause WS GUI 300 to present a graphical userinterface for adding a new member to the workspace and/or shared folderassociated with the workspace. The user can input the new member's name,email address, telephone number, and/or other data (e.g., company,department, project, etc.) associated with the new member. WS GUI 300can send the new member's information to workspace server 136. Workspaceserver 136 can add the new member to the workspace and share the sharedfolder associated with the workspace with the new member. Workspaceserver 136 can add the new member to the email mailing list for theworkspace.

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can present content items stored inthe shared folder of the displayed workspace. For example, WS GUI 300can present graphical elements 310 that represent content items storedin shared folder 234 corresponding to the “Engineering” workspace. Theuser can select a graphical element 310 to view the content item and/ormessages corresponding to the selected graphical element 310, asdescribed further below. In some implementations, the presentedgraphical elements 310 can represent all of the content items in theshared folder. In some implementations, the graphical elements 310 canrepresent content items selected based on usage statistics associatedwith the respective content items. For example, the presented graphicalelements 310 can represent the top five most recently accessed contentitems. The presented graphical elements 310 can represent the top tenmost frequently accessed content items. The presented graphical elements310 can represent the top six content items accessed by the most numberof workspace members.

In some implementations, graphical elements 310 can includerepresentations of one or more bookmarked content items in the sharedfolder corresponding to the workspace. For example, certain contentitems may be more important than others (e.g., more frequently accessed,a must read document for workspace members, etc.). A user can designatea content item as an important content item to have the content itemflagged, bookmarked, or pinned to the top of the list of graphicalelements 310 presented on WS GUI 300. Workspace server 136 canautomatically designate a content item as an important content itembased on a variety of factors. For example, workspace server 136 candetermine which content items are accessed the most frequently or by themost members of the workspace and automatically designate the contentitems as important content items. The important content items can bepinned at the top of the list of graphical elements 310 so that theimportant content items are always easily accessible through WS GUI 300.The bookmarked content items can be the same for each member of theworkspace. For example, every workspace member will see the samebookmarked content items when each member launches WS GUI 300. Animportant content item can be associated with a graphical indicator 314(e.g., a flag, a pin, bookmark, etc.).

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can include graphical elements 312for adding a new content item to the workspace. For example, a user canselect a graphical element 312 to add a new folder to shared folder 234corresponding to the displayed workspace. A user can select a graphicalelement 312 to add a new content item (e.g., file, media item, etc.) tothe workspace. Upon selection of graphical element 312, a graphical userinterface can be presented to prompt the user to select an existingcontent item in the file system of the user's client device 210 forinclusion in the workspace. The user can select an existing content itemon the user's client device 210 to have that content item stored in thelocal shared folder 214 corresponding to the workspace. WS GUI 300 cansend a message to workspace server 136 indicating that a new contentitem has been added to shared folder 214 to cause the new content itemin shared folder 214 to be synchronized with the corresponding sharedfolders 234 and 244. Thus, WS GUI 242 on client device 240 can beupdated to display the new content item in the workspace.

Upon selection of graphical element 312, a graphical user interface canbe presented to prompt the user to create a new content item in theworkspace. The user can select the type of content item and provide aname for the content item. WS GUI 300 can send the content item type andname to workspace server 136. Workspace server 136 can generate acontent item of the specified type and having the specified name andstore the new content item in shared folder 234 associated with theworkspace, as described further below.

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can include message stream 316. Forexample, message stream 316 can include messages generated from avariety of sources, such as email, chat, text message, comments oncontent items, comments in content items, and workspace status updates.For example, when a user adds a content item to the workspace, asdescribed above, a message can be added to message stream 316 indicatingthat the content item was added. Each message in the message stream canidentify the workspace member who generated the message, indicate whenthe message was generated, and who has seen the message. For example,the workspace message can indicate how many workspace members have seenthe message. The workspace message can identify which members have seenthe message.

In some implementations, the user of WS GUI 300 can generate a newmessage by inputting (e.g., typing, pasting, dictating, etc.) a messageinto graphical element 318. Upon providing input (e.g., selecting areturn button, selecting a send button, etc.) indicating that the useris finished composing the message, the message can be added to messagestream 316. In some implementations, new messages are added to thebottom of message stream 316 so that as a user reads towards the top ofmessage stream 316 the messages become increasingly older. For example,message stream 316 can behave like a typical chat user interface wherenew messages are posted at the bottom and the older messages scroll upas new messages are added.

In some implementations, a user of WS GUI 300 can add a content item tomessage stream 316 by selecting graphical element 320. For example, auser can compose a message using graphical element 318 and add a contentitem to the message by selecting graphical element 320. Upon selectionof graphical element 320, a file browser interface can be presented thatallows the user to select a content item from the client device's localfile system, from the shared folder associated with the workspace and/orfrom a network resource (e.g., the Internet). When the composed messageis displayed in message stream 316, a link to the selected content itemand a representation 317 of the selected content item can be displayedin the message. For example, representation 317 can be a preview imageof the linked content item. The preview image can be live. For example,the preview image can be updated when the linked content changes or isupdated. If the linked content is a content item in the shared folder,the preview image can be updated to reflect changes in the content item.If the linked content is a webpage or other web content, the previewimage can be updated to reflect the current state of the webpage or webcontent. If the content item is not already in the shared folderassociated with the workspace, the selected content item can be copiedinto the local shared folder (e.g., shared folder 214 on client device210) and WS GUI 300 can trigger (e.g., almost immediately)synchronization of the newly added content item with shared folders 234and 244, as described above, so that each member of the workspace canaccess the content item referenced in the new message displayed inmessage stream 316. If the link is associated with network content(e.g., an Internet web page), then the link can be stored in a “Links”folder of the workspace shared folder.

In some implementations, message stream 316 can include individualmessages. For example, message 324 is an individual message from member“Bob.” Message 324 can indicate the member who generated the message,the time when the message was generated, how many other members haveviewed the message, and the message content (e.g., “something smartabout engineering”).

In some implementations, message stream 316 can include message thread326. For example, a message thread is a group of related messages withinthe message stream. A message thread is typically created when onemember replies to a message generated by another user. For example, inmessage thread 326, Fred posted a message in message stream 316 thatincludes a content item “media.mp4.” Bob replied to Fred's messagethereby creating message thread 326. For example, like Bob, member Davereply to Fred's message by selecting “Reply” graphical element 330associated with Fred's message and inputting a reply message into agraphical element 332 in message thread 326 to add a message to messagethread 326. A message thread can be identified in message stream 316 bya line 328 connecting the messages in the message thread, for example.

In some implementations, message stream 316 can combine chat andthreaded message behaviors in the same graphical user interface. Forexample, when members generate individual messages (e.g., usinggraphical element 318), message stream 316 can behave like a typicalchat user interface where new messages are presented at the bottom ofmessage stream 316 and older messages scroll up. However, when a userinteracts with (e.g., hovers a cursor or pointer over, composes a replyto, provides some active or passive input to, etc.) an existing messageor an existing message thread (e.g., message thread 326), the messagestream 316 will stop the upward scrolling behavior while the user isinteracting with the existing message or message thread. Thus, while theuser is composing a reply to a message or message thread, the messagesin message stream 316 will remain (e.g., freezes) in place. Once theuser is no longer interacting with a message or message thread, messagestream 316 can resume scrolling messages as new messages are generatedin chat like fashion.

In some implementations, a user can like a message displayed in messagestream 316. For example, a user can select “Like” graphical element 334to express approval of a message generated by another member of theworkspace presented on WS GUI 300. The members who have liked a messagecan be indicted using graphical element 336.

In some implementations, WS GUI 300 can include search graphical element338. For example, a user can enter search terms into graphical element338 to cause WS GUI 300 to perform a search based on the entered searchterms. The search can be a workspace search that searches for contentitems and messages within the current workspace that match the searchterms. The search can include content items, messages, email and otherdata on the user's local device. The search can be a global search thatwill search the workspace, the user's local device, content managementsystem 136, and network resources (e.g., the Internet) for content thatmatches the search terms entered by the user. The search results can bedisplayed on a graphical user interface (not shown) and the user canselect items in the search results to preview the items or add the itemsto the current workspace.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example system 400 for creating a newcontent item in a workspace. For example, a new content item can begenerated in response to a user selecting a graphical element 312 on WSGUI 300 (e.g., WS GUI 242). In some implementations, a user of WS GUI242 can provide input to GUI 242 to generate a new content item. Forexample, the content item can be a productivity item such as a wordprocessor document, a spreadsheet, or a presentation document, amongother things. In response to receiving the input, WS GUI 242 can displaya prompt asking the user to select a type of content item to generateand to provide a name for the new content item. Once the user selects acontent item type and specifies a name for the content item, WS GUI 242can send the content item type and specified name to workspace server136. Upon receiving the content item type and specified name, workspaceserver 136 can select a content template 402 corresponding to thecontent item type (e.g., if the content item type is a word processingdocument, then a word processing template can be selected). Workspaceserver 136 can copy the selected content template 402 and rename thecontent template according to the specified name to generate new contentitem 404. Workspace server 136 can store new content item 404 in sharedfolder 234. Once new content item 404 is stored in shared folder 234,workspace server 136 can trigger synchronization of shared folder 234with shared folder 244 on client device 240 so that new content item 404can be immediately (e.g., almost immediately) synchronized with thecorresponding shared folder 244 on client device 240. Thesynchronization will cause new content item 404 to be sent to clientdevice 240 (and client devices of other workspace members) and stored inshared folder 244. Once new content item 404 is stored in shared folder234 and/or shared folder 244, workspace server 136 can notify WS GUI 242that new content item 404 is available for viewing and/or editing.

In some implementations, a user can view new content item 404 through aweb browser. For example, once WS GUI 242 is notified that new contentitem 404 is available in shared folder 234 on server device 230, WS GUI242 can present new content item 404 in the browser interface.

In some implementations, a user can view new content item 404 in anative application on client device 240. For example, once WS GUI 242 isnotified that new content item 404 is available in shared folder 244 onclient device 240, WS GUI 242 can prompt the user for input specifyinghow new content item 404 should be displayed (e.g., in the browser or innative application 406). In some implementations, the user can specifynative application 406 for displaying new content item 404. For example,if new content item 404 is a word processing document, nativeapplication 406 can be a word processing application installed on clientdevice 240 and appropriate for presenting and editing the wordprocessing document on client device 240. Thus, the user can view andedit new content item 404 using a native application executing locallyon client device 240. Similarly, when the user selects a content itemrepresented by graphical elements 310 on WS GUI 300, the user can begiven the option to open the selected content item in the web browser orin a native application.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example client process 500 for generatinga new content item in a workspace. At step 520, client device 240 candisplay workspace graphical user interface 300. For example, WS GUI 300(i.e., WS GUI 242) can present a graphical element 312 for generating anew content item in the workspace.

At step 504, client device 240 can receive user input to generate a newcontent item. For example, WS GUI 300 can receive user input selectinggraphical element 312. In response to the user's selection of graphicalelement 321, WS GUI 300 can present a prompt requesting that the userselect a content item type and specify a name for the new content item.WS GUI 300 can receive user input specifying the content item type andthe name for the new content item.

At step 506, client device 240 can send a new content item request toworkspace server 136. For example, client device 240 can send theuser-specified content item type and name to workspace server 136.

At step 508, client device 240 can receive a new content item in localshared folder 244 on client device 240. For example, content managementsystem 106 can synchronize shared folder 244 on client device 240 withshared folder 234 on server device 230 to deliver the new content itemfrom server device 230 to client device 240, as described above.

At step 510, client device 240 can receive a notification that indicatesthat the new content item is available for viewing in the workspace. Forexample, WS GUI 300 can receive a notification from workspace server 136that the new content item is available in workspace shared folder 234.WS GUI 300 can receive a notification from workspace server 136 that thenew content item has been synchronized with shared folder 244 on clientdevice 240. Alternatively, WS GUI 300 can detect the presence of the newcontent item in local shared folder 244. For example, WS GUI 300 canmonitor shared folder 244 for changes, such as the addition of the newcontent item.

At step 512, client device 240 can receive user input selecting apreview image or native application presentation of the new contentitem. For example, once WS GUI 300 receives a notification that the newcontent item is available in the workspace, WS GUI 300 can present aprompt asking the user how the user would like to view the new contentitem. The prompt can present options for viewing a preview image of thenew content item or opening and viewing the new content item in a nativeapplication on client device 240.

At step 514, client device 240 can present the new content itemaccording to the user's selection. For example, if the user selects toview a preview image, workspace server 136 can deliver a preview imageof the new content item stored in shared folder 234 to WS GUI 300 forpresentation to the user on client device 240. If the user selects toview the content item in a native application, WS GUI 300 can invoke anative application appropriate for the type of the new content item onclient device 240. For example, if the new content item type is aspreadsheet, then WS GUI 300 can invoke a spreadsheet application onclient device 240 for displaying the new content item stored in sharedfolder 244 on client device 240. For example, WS GUI 300 can present thepreview image and native application viewing options to a user anytimethe user selects to open or view a content item within a workspace.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example server process 600 for generatinga new content item in a workspace. At step 602, server device 230 canreceive a request for a new content item. For example, workspace server136 can receive a request form WS GUI 300 to create a new content item.The request can identify the type of content item to generate and a namefor the new content item.

At step 604, server device 230 can generate a copy of an existingcontent item template. For example, server device 230 can storetemplates for each type of content item that can be generated byworkspace server 136. Workspace server 136 can determine from whichtemplate to generate the new content item based on the content item typein the request received at step 602. Workspace server 136 can select acontent item template based on the requested content item type and copythe content item template to make a new content item.

At step 606, server device 230 can rename the copy of the content itemtemplate according to the name specified in the request received at step602. For example, workspace server 136 can assign to the new contentitem the content item name specified in the request received at step602.

At step 608, server device 230 can store the template copy in sharedfolder 234 on server device 230. For example, workspace server 136 canstore the new content item in shared folder 234.

At step 610, server device 230 can trigger synchronization of sharedfolder 234 on server device 230 and shared folder 244 on client device240. For example, upon storing the new content item in shared folder234, workspace server 136 can command content management system 106 tosynchronize shared folder 244 and shared folder 234 so that the clientdevices associated with the workspace can be updated with the newcontent item. By triggering the synchronization upon creating andstoring the new content item, client devices (e.g., users) can have nearimmediate access to the newly generated content item.

At step 612, server device 230 can notify client device 240 that the newcontent item is available. For example, workspace server 136 can notifyWS GUI 300 that the new content item is available in shared folder 234on server 230. Upon synchronization of shared folder 244 on clientdevice 240 with shared folder 234 on server device 230, workspace server136 can notify WS GUI 300 that the new content item is available locallyon client device 240. Thus, client device 240 can open and display thenew content item to the user in a native application associated with thenew content item type.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a system 700 for integrating emailinto a shared folder backed integrated workspace. For example, system700 allows users to integrate existing email systems into the sharedfolder backed integrated workspace and present emails as workspacemessages in message stream 316 of WS GUI 300.

In some implementations, workspace server 136 can convert email messagesinto workspace messages. For example, a user (e.g., workspace member)can, e.g., through WS GUI 300, grant workspace server 136 access to anemail account 712 of the user on email server 710. The user can provideworkspace server 136 with an account identifier (e.g., email address)and credentials (e.g., user name, password). Workspace server 136 canuse the account identifier and credentials to access the user's emailaccount.

In some implementations, workspace server 136 can analyze emails in theuser's email account 712 to determine which emails areworkspace-related. For example, a workspace can be associated with anemail mailing list (e.g., an email address that can be used to send andreceive emails to/from members of a group), as described above.Workspace server 136 can determine which emails in the user's emailaccount 712 are associated with the mailing list (e.g., addressed to orfrom the email address for the mailing list). Workspace server 136 canconvert the emails associated with the mailing list into workspacemessages and add the workspace messages to the workspace (e.g., toshared folder 234) so that the messages are displayed on WS GUI 300. Forexample, workspace server 136 can extract the content of an email andinsert the content of the email into a workspace message object fordisplay on WS GUI 300.

In some implementations, workspace server 136 can store emailattachments in shared folder 234. For example, user email account 712can receive an email from a workspace mailing list that includes anattachment (e.g., content item, media file, etc.). Email server 710 cansend the email with attachment 702 to email client 720 for presentationto a user of client device 210. Workspace server 136 can obtain emailwith attachment 702 from user email account 712. For example, becauseemail 702 is associated with the workspace mailing list (e.g., email 702was received from the mailing list), workspace server 136 will obtainemail 702 from user email account 712.

Once workspace server 136 obtains email 702, workspace server 136 willstore email attachment 704 in shared folder 234 and generate workspacemessage 706 that includes the contents of email 702 and a link to emailattachment 704 in shared folder 234. Workspace server 136 can thentrigger synchronization of shared folders 234 and 214 so that sharedfolder 214 can obtain a copy of email attachment 704. Workspace server136 can send workspace message 706 to WS GUI 212 so that the message andthe link to attachment 704 can be displayed in message stream 316. Forexample, workspace message 706 displayed in workspace stream 316 caninclude the contents of email 702, a link to attachment 704 stored inshared folder 234, and an embedded preview image of the attachment. Insome implementations, the contents (e.g., the body, the textual messageportion) of email 702 can be tracked or associated with attachment 704(e.g., content item) as comments on attachment 704. When attachment 704is later opened and viewed by the user, the comments (e.g., emailmessage) can be presented to the user, as described further below.

In some implementations, workspace server 136 can convert workspacemessages into email messages. For example, a user can generate a newworkspace message using graphical element 318 of WS GUI 300 and add acontent item to the message using graphical element 320, as describedabove. The workspace message can include a link to the content item, forexample. The new workspace message 708 can be sent from WS GUI 300(i.e., WS GUI 212) to workspace server 136. Workspace server 136 cangenerate a new email that includes the contents of the workspacemessage, including the link to the content item in shared folder 214,and send the new email to the email mail list associated with theworkspace. Because the user is associated with the mail list, the newemail with the link to the content item will be delivered to the useremail account 712 and ultimately delivered to email client 720.

For example, by sending links in emails instead of attaching contentitems to emails, the amount of storage needed to store emails can bereduced. Additionally, users no longer need to worry about attachmentsize limits when using links to content items in shared folders ratherthan attaching large files. Further, users can use the links in emailsto obtain the latest version of a content item instead of only havingaccess to a static, outdated version of the content item.

In some implementations, links allow workspaceowners/administrators/users to have more control over access to contentitems. For example, a user can disable a link when the user no longerwishes others to have access to a content item. The user can specifyexpiration dates for links. The user can restrict access to links tospecified users or specified client devices.

In some implementations, the user can specify options for when togenerate emails from workspace messages. For example, a user (e.g.,workspace member) can specify that the user should only receive emailsabout initial workspace messages (e.g., individual message or firstmessages in a message thread). The user can specify that the user shouldonly receive emails about messages in which the user is mentioned (e.g.,@mentioned, @Bob, @Steve, etc.). The user can specify that the usershould only receive emails about messages when another workspace member“likes” a workspace message originated by the user. Thus, the user canavoid being overwhelmed by workspace emails generated for every newworkspace message in the workspace.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an example server process 800 for convertingan email into a workspace message. At step 802, server device 230 canreceive authorization to access a user email account. For example, auser (e.g., workspace member) can provide input to WS GUI 300 authorizeworkspace server 136 to access an email account associated with theuser. The user can provide input to WS GUI 300 identifying an emailaccount (e.g., email address) and credentials (e.g., user name andpassword) for the email account. WS GUI 300 can send the email accountidentifier and credentials to workspace server 136.

At step 804, server device 230 can obtain email associated with theworkspace from the user's email account. For example, the workspace canhave an email address. The email address can be a mailing list addressused to send and receive emails from members of the workspace. Workspaceserver 136 can use the email account identifier and credentials suppliedby the user to access the user's email account. Workspace server 136 cananalyze the emails in the user's email account to determine which emailsare associated with the workspace email address. Workspace server 136can obtain copies of each email that is associated with the workspaceemail address.

At step 806, server device 230 can store email attachments in theworkspace shared folder. For example, workspace server 136 can determinewhich emails obtained from the user's email account have attachments. Ifan email does not have an attachment, then the method can progress tostep 808. If an email does have an attachment, then the attachment canbe stored in the shared folder associated with the workspace.

At step 808, server device 230 can generate a workspace message thatincludes a link to the attachment stored in the workspace's sharedfolder. For example, workspace server 136 can extract the body (e.g.,textual content) of the email from the email and generate a newworkspace message based on the content of the email. If the email has anattachment, a link to the attachment stored in the workspace's sharedfolder can be generated and inserted in to the new workspace message.

At step 810, server device 230 can trigger synchronization of the servershared folder with corresponding shared folders on client devices. Forexample, workspace server 136 can send a command to content managementsystem 106 to cause content in the shared folders 234, 244 and 214 ofthe workspace to be synchronized. Thus, each shared folder 234, 244 and214 in the workspace can be updated to include the email attachmentstored in the workspace shared folder.

At step 812, server device 230 can send the new workspace message toclient devices 210 and 240. For example, workspace server 136 can sendthe new workspace message (e.g., with link to stored attachment) to WSGUI 300 on each client device. WS GUI 300 can display the workspacemessage and/or the link to the stored attachment in message stream 316,for example. The workspace message can include a live preview image ofthe linked content, as described above.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example client process 900 for convertinga workspace message into email messages. At step 902, client device 210can present WS GUI 300 (i.e., WS GUI 212) to a user.

At step 904, client device 210 can receive user input generating a newworkspace message with a link to content. For example, WS GUI 300 canreceive user input to generate a new workspace message and link acontent item to the workspace message, as described above with referenceto FIG. 3.

At step 906, client device 210 can copy the linked content or the linkinto the shared folder of client device 210. For example, WS GUI 300 cancopy the linked content or the link into the workspace shared folder onclient device 210.

At step 908, client device 210 can trigger synchronization of sharedfolder 214 of client device 210 with shared folder 234 of server device230. For example, WS GUI 300 can send a message to workspace server 136to trigger synchronization of shared folder 214 and shared folder 234.Upon receiving the synchronization request, workspace server 136 cansend a command to content management system 106 to cause contentmanagement system 106 to synchronize the shared folders. By triggering asynchronization of the shared folders, WS GUI 300 can ensure that thelinked content item will be available to the recipient of the emailgenerated at step 912 below.

At step 910, client device 210 can send the workspace message toworkspace server 136. For example, WS GUI 300 can send the workspacemessage to workspace server 136.

At step 912, client device 210 can present the workspace message andlink on WS GUI 300, as described above.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example server process 1000 forconverting a workspace message into an email. At step 1002, serverdevice 230 can receive a workspace message including a link to contentfrom client device 210. For example, WS GUI 300 can generate theworkspace message in response to user input, as described above. WS GUI300 can send the workspace message to workspace server 136. The link canbe a link to a content item in a shared folder associated with theworkspace in content management system 106. The link can be a link toexternal content, such as an Internet web page.

At step 1004, server device 230 can trigger synchronization of sharedfolder 234 of server device 230 and shared folder 210 of client device210. For example, if the workspace message includes a link to a contentitem in shared folder 214, workspace server can determine whether thelinked content item exists in shared folder 234. If the linked contentitem does not exist in shared folder 234 on server device 230, thenworkspace server 136 can trigger synchronization of shared folder 234and shared folder 214 so that shared folder 234 will include the linkedcontent item already stored in shared folder 214 of client device 210.In some implementations, either step 908 of process 900 or step 1004 ofprocess 1000 will be performed. Step 908 and step 1004 both provide forsynchronizing shared folders when a workspace message that links contentis to be converted into an email. However, only one of the steps 908 or1004 are necessary to ensure that the linked content is available inshared folder 234 on server device 230 (and other shared folders onother client devices).

At step 1006, server device 230 can generate an email including theworkspace message content and the link. For example, workspace server136 can generate an email that includes the content of the workspacemessage and the link to the linked content.

At step 1008, server device 230 can send the generated email to theworkspace mailing list. For example, workspace server 136 can send theemail generated based on the workspace message to the workspace mailinglist so that members of the workspace can receive the workspace messageas an email. The email can be delivered to the members of the workspacemailing list according to each member's preferences, as described above.

In some implementations, workspace server 136 can send workspacemessages to external users who are not members of a workspace. Forexample, a workspace member can generate a workspace message, asdescribed above, and mention an external user. For example, the externaluser can be at-mentioned (e.g., @Sue) in a workspace message. If thementioned external user is not one of the members of the workspace,workspace server 136 can access the email accounts of the members of theworkspace to obtain contact information (e.g., email address, telephonenumber, etc.) for the mentioned external user. If workspace server 136is unable to locate contact information for the mentioned external user,workspace server 136 can send a message to WS GUI 300 to cause WS GUI300 to prompt the workspace member for contact information for theexternal user mentioned in the workspace message. The workspace membercan input contact information (e.g., email address, telephone number,etc.) into WS GUI 300. WS GUI 300 can send the contact information toworkspace server 136. Workspace server 136 can send the workspacemessage in which the external user was mentioned to the external userusing the contact information provided by the workspace member. Forexample, workspace server can send the external user an email or textmessage (e.g., SMS) that includes the content of the workspace messagein which the external user was mentioned. If the workspace messageincludes a link to content, the external user can access the content(e.g., through a web browser) even though the external user is not amember of the workspace.

In some implementations, an external user can add a workspace message tomessage stream 316. For example, the external user can reply to an emailor text message generated by workspace server 136. Workspace server 136can convert the email or text message reply into a workspace message andpost the workspace message in message stream 316.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example workspace graphical user interface (WSGUI) 1100 for generating a discussion about a content item. For example,WS GUI 1100 can present a graphical element 1102 representing a contentitem stored in the shared folder of the displayed workspace. In someimplementations, a user can select graphical element 1102 to causegraphical element 1104 (e.g., options menu) to appear on WS GUI 1100.Graphical element 1104 can present options with respect to the contentitem corresponding to the selected graphical element 1102. For example,graphical element 1104 can present a discussion option 1106 that allowsa user to initiate a discussion of the content item corresponding tographical element 1102.

In some implementations, a new message thread can be generated todiscuss a selected content item. For example, in response to the userselecting discussion option 1106, message thread 1108 can be created inthe message stream displayed on WS GUI 1100. As can be seen in FIG. 11,workspace member Dave started the discussion thread for “Content Item.”Preview image 1110 corresponding to the content item is displayed inmessage thread 1108 proximate to Dave's initial message. Subsequently,Bob and Dave have added workspace messages to message thread 1108discussing the content item. While the example discussion describedabove occurs inline with other messages in the message stream, aseparate user interface can be presented to discuss the content item.For example, user interface 1200 of FIG. 12 below can be presented tofacilitate discussion of the selected content item.

In some implementations, graphical element 1104 can include options foropening the content item corresponding to graphical element 1102. Forexample, the options for opening a content item can include a selectableoption 1114 for opening a preview image of the content item, asdescribed above. The options for opening a content item can include aselectable option 1112 for opening the content item in a nativeapplication running on the user's client device, as described above.Upon receiving a user selection of either option 1112 or option 1114, WSGUI 300 will cause the corresponding content item to be displayed ineither the native application or a preview image, as described above.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example workspace graphical user interface (WSGUI) 1200 for viewing comments related to a content item in a workspace.For example, WS GUI 1200 can be invoked when a user selects discussoption 1106 or open preview option 1114 of WS GUI 1100. In someimplementations, WS GUI 1200 can include graphical element 1202 (e.g., awindow) for viewing a preview image 1204 of the selected content itemand comments 1206 associated with the selected content item. In someimplementations, the user can edit preview image 1204. In someimplementations, preview image 1204 is a read only image.

In some implementations, comments 1206 can present comments associatedwith the selected content item collected from a variety of sources. Forexample, workspace server 136 can collect comments related to a selectedcontent item from all available sources and send the collected commentsto WS GUI 1200 for display in comments area 1206. For example, comments1206 can include comments made about the selected content item inmessage stream 316. Comments 1206 can include comments made about theselected content item made in workspace member emails. Comments 1206 caninclude comments obtained from within the selected content item. Forexample, some word processing applications allow users to generatecomments and track changes inside a document. These internal commentsand modifications can be extracted from the document and presented incomments 1206. In some implementations, comments 1206 can include changeinformation, such as identifying when a content item was created,modified, etc. Comments 1206 can identify what changes were made to theselected content item.

In some implementations, graphical element 1202 can include graphicalelement 1208 for facilitating conversations about the currentlydisplayed content item. For example, a user can input a comment intographical element 1208 and submit the comment to cause the comment toappear in comment area 1206. Each user can comment on and discuss thecurrently displayed content item using graphical element 1208 andcomments are 1206.

In some implementations, comments collected by workspace server 136 canbe added to the corresponding content item. For example, if the contentitem is a word processing document that supports internal comments, thecomments collected from the variety of sources by workspace server 136can be added to the word processing document as internal comments.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of an example process 1300 for generating anddisplaying comments for a content item. At step 1302, workspace server136 can receive a message associated with a content item. For example,workspace server 136 can determine that a message is associated with (orrelated to) the content item when the content item is attached to themessage (e.g., an email attachment). Workspace server 136 can determinethat a message is associated with the content item when the content itemis linked to the message (e.g., a link to the content item in an email,a link to the content item in workspace message, a link to the contentitem in a chat message, etc.). Workspace server 136 can determine thatthe message is associated with the content item when the message is inreply to a previous message that has the content item as an attachmentor has a link to the content item. Workspace server 136 can determinethat the message is associated with the content item when the message isin a message thread (e.g., a series of related messages, a series ofreplies to an original message, etc.) that contains a previous messagethat has the content item as an attachment or has a link to the contentitem.

At step 1304, workspace server 136 can store the message as a commentfor the content item. For example, when workspace server 136 determinesthat a message is associated with a content item, workspace server 136can store the message in comment metadata corresponding to the contentitem. Thus, messages from various sources (e.g., email, chat, workspacemessage, instant message, text message, etc.) can be aggregated into thecomment metadata for the content item. For example, the comment metadatacan be stored internally to the content item. The comment metadata canbe stored separately from the content item (e.g., in a separate file).All of the comments obtained for the content item regardless of source(e.g., email, chat message, workspace message, text message, instantmessage, comments from within the content item, etc.) can be stored inthe comment metadata for the content item.

At step 1306, workspace server 136 can receive a selection of thecontent item. For example, a user of client device 102 _(i) can view arepresentation of the content item (e.g., an icon, graphic, text, etc.,that represents the content item) on a workspace graphical userinterface. For example, the workspace graphical user interface can be aweb interface displayed in a browser application. The workspacegraphical user interface can be a user interface of a workspace specificnative application. The user can select the representation of thecontent item displayed on the workspace graphical user interface toselect the content item. The workspace graphical user interface can sendthe content item selection to workspace server 136.

At step 1308, workspace server 136 can cause client device 102 _(i) topresent the selected content item and the comments for the content item.For example, workspace server 136 can send a webpage that displays thecontent item (or preview image of the content item) and the comments forthe content item to the web browser running on client device 102 _(i).Workspace server 136 can send the content item and the content itemcomments to the native application running on client device 102 _(i).For example, workspace server 136 can synchronize the content item andthe content item comments metadata with the client device as describedabove. The content item and the comments can be displayed in a separateuser interface (e.g., WS GUI 1200). The content item can the commentscan be displayed in a content item-specific message thread (e.g.,message thread 1108 of FIG. 11).

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an example process 1400 for creatingconversations around a content item. At step 1402, a client device canpresent a workspace GUI including content items and a message stream.For example, client device 102 _(i) can present WS GUI 1100 of FIG. 11.

At step 1404, the client device can receive a selection of a contentitem displayed on the workspace GUI. For example, a user of clientdevice 102 _(i) can provide input to WS GUI 1100 to select content item1102 of FIG. 11.

At step 1406, the client device can present a content item discussionoption. For example, WS GUI 1100 can present options menu 1104 thatincludes discussion option 1106 in response to the user input receivedat step 1404.

At step 1408, the client device can receive a selection of the discussoption. For example, the user of client device 102 _(i) can provideinput to client device 102 _(i) with respect to discussion option 1106to select the discussion option.

At step 1410, the client device can generate a new message including theselected content item in the message stream. For example, in response toreceiving the selection of the discussion option 1106, client device 102_(i) can generate a new message for the message stream that includes theselected content item. Client device 102 _(i) can send the new messageto workspace server 136 and present the new message and the selectedcontent item in the message stream. Once the new message is presented toother workspace members, the workspace members can reply to the messageto continue the discussion of the selected content item and generatemessage thread 1108 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of an example process 1500 for sendingworkspace messages to external users. At step 1502, a server device cangenerate a message stream for workspace members. For example, serverdevice 230 can generate message stream 316 of FIG. 3. Message stream 316can be a (e.g., time-ordered) collection of workspace messages (e.g.,real-time or near real-time chat messages) generated by members of aworkspace, as described above.

At step 1504, the server device can receive a message for the messagestream. For example, server device 230 can receive a new workspacemessage generated by a member of the workspace.

At step 1506, the server device can determine that the message mentionsan external user. For example, an external user is any user who is not amember of the workspace (e.g., not an authorized user of the workspaceshared folder). The server device can determine that an external user ismentioned in the message by analyzing text in the message for a prefixthat identifies a mentioned user. For example, the prefix can be asingle character or symbol (e.g., @). The prefix can be multiplecharacters or symbols (e.g., “at:”, “for:”, etc.). Once the serverdevice finds the prefix, the server device can compare the stringfollowing the prefix to identifiers of workspace members. If the stringdoes not match any workspace members, the server device can determinethat the mentioned user is an external user.

At step 1508, the server device can obtain contact information for theexternal user. For example, the server device can request contactinformation from the client device of the workspace member who generatedthe workspace message that contains the mention of the external user.The client device can prompt the workspace member for contactinformation (e.g., telephone number, email address, etc.) of theexternal user. The client device can search a contacts database storedon the client device to obtain the contact information for the externaluser. In some implementations, the server device can store a contactsdatabase in a workspace member's account and search the contactsdatabase to determine contact information for the external user.

At step 1510, the server device can send the message that mentions theexternal user to the external user according to a communicationmechanism corresponding to the contact information obtained for theexternal user. For example, if the contact information for the externaluser is a telephone number, the server device can send the workspacemessage (e.g., the text portion of the message) to the external userusing text messaging (e.g., short message service messaging). If thecontact information for the external user is an email address, theserver device can send the workspace message to the external user usingemail.

In some implementations, the external user can respond to the workspacemessage using the same communication mechanism by which the externaluser received the workspace message. For example, if the external userreceives an email message, the external user can reply using email. Ifthe external user receives a text message, the external user can replyby text message. When the server device receives the email or textmessage reply, the server device can generate a new workspace messagethat contains the reply and post the new workspace message to themessage stream as a reply to the message in which the external user wasmentioned.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of an example process 1600 for presenting chatand threaded conversations in the same graphical user interface. At step1602, a client device can generate a workspace graphical user interfacethat includes a message stream. For example, the client device cangenerate WS GUI 300 including message stream 316.

At step 1604, the client device can receive a new message for themessage stream. For example, a workspace member can generate a newworkspace message as described above with reference to FIG. 3. At thispoint, the new message can be received by the client device but not yetdisplayed or inserted into the message stream.

At step 1606, the client device can determine whether a user isinteracting with an existing message in the message stream. For example,client device 102 _(i) can determine the position of an input cursor orpointer over WS GUI 300. When the cursor is located over one of themessages displayed on WS GUI 300, then client device 102 _(i) candetermine that the user is interacting with an existing message. Whenthe user is providing textual input in response to an existing message(e.g., providing input to text input element 332), then client device102 _(i) can determine that the user is interacting with an existingmessage. When the user is providing any other input (e.g., a click,touch, swipe, etc.) with respect to an existing message in messagestream 316 (e.g., selecting like element 334, selecting reply element330), then client device 102 _(i) can determine that the user isinteracting with an existing message in message stream 316. When theuser is not providing input to one of the messages displayed in messagestream 316, then client device 102 _(i) can determine that the user isnot interacting with an existing message in message stream 316.

At step 1608, the client device can scroll the message stream when theuser is not interacting with an existing message in the message stream.For example, when client device 102 _(i) determines that the user is notinteracting with an existing message, client device 102 _(i) can scrollthe message stream to make room for the new message on WS GUI 300 andinsert the new message into the message stream, as described above. Forexample, if client device 102 _(i) scrolls the message stream in anupward direction, the new message can be inserted at the bottom of themessage stream. If client device 102 _(i) scrolls the message stream ina downward direction, the new message can be inserted at the top of themessage stream. The scrolling behavior can be the default behavior foradding a new message to the message stream when the new message isreceived.

At step 1610, the client device can freeze the message stream when theuser is interacting with an existing message in the message stream. Forexample, client device 102 _(i) can freeze the message stream by ceasingthe scrolling behavior in response to receiving the new message. Whilethe user is interacting with an existing message, client device 102 _(i)will not scroll the message stream to make room for the new message.

At step 1612, the client device can insert the new message into themessage stream. For example, once the user stops interacting with theexisting message, client device 102 _(i) can resume the scrollingbehavior, insert the new message into the message stream and display thenew message on WS GUI 300.

17A and FIG. 17B show example possible system embodiments. The moreappropriate embodiment will be apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art when practicing the present technology. Persons of ordinaryskill in the art will also readily appreciate that other systemembodiments are possible.

FIG. 17A illustrates a conventional system bus computing systemarchitecture 1700 wherein the components of the system are in electricalcommunication with each other using a bus 1705. Example system 1700includes a processing unit (CPU or processor) 1710 and a system bus 1705that couples various system components including the system memory 1715,such as read only memory (ROM) 1720 and random access memory (RAM) 1725,to the processor 1710. The system 1700 can include a cache of high-speedmemory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated aspart of the processor 1710. The system 1700 can copy data from thememory 1715 and/or the storage device 1730 to the cache 1712 for quickaccess by the processor 1710. In this way, the cache can provide aperformance boost that avoids processor 1710 delays while waiting fordata. These and other modules can control or be configured to controlthe processor 1710 to perform various actions. Other system memory 1715may be available for use as well. The memory 1715 can include multipledifferent types of memory with different performance characteristics.The processor 1710 can include any general purpose processor and ahardware module or software module, such as module 1 1732, module 21734, and module 3 1736 stored in storage device 1730, configured tocontrol the processor 1710 as well as a special-purpose processor wheresoftware instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design.The processor 1710 may essentially be a completely self-containedcomputing system, containing multiple cores or processors, a bus, memorycontroller, cache, etc. A multi-core processor may be symmetric orasymmetric.

To enable user interaction with the computing device 1700, an inputdevice 1745 can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as amicrophone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphicalinput, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An outputdevice 1735 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanismsknown to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodalsystems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input tocommunicate with the computing device 1700. The communications interface1740 can generally govern and manage the user input and system output.There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardwarearrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily besubstituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they aredeveloped.

Storage device 1730 is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk orother types of computer readable media which can store data that areaccessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges,random access memories (RAMs) 1725, read only memory (ROM) 1720, andhybrids thereof.

The storage device 1730 can include software modules 1732, 1734, and1736 for controlling the processor 1710. Other hardware or softwaremodules are contemplated. The storage device 1730 can be connected tothe system bus 1705. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs aparticular function can include the software component stored in acomputer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardwarecomponents, such as the processor 1710, bus 1705, display 1735, and soforth, to carry out the function.

FIG. 17B illustrates a computer system 1750 having a chipsetarchitecture that can be used in executing the described method andgenerating and displaying a graphical user interface (GUI). Computersystem 1750 is an example of computer hardware, software, and firmwarethat can be used to implement the disclosed technology. System 1750 caninclude a processor 1755, representative of any number of physicallyand/or logically distinct resources capable of executing software,firmware, and hardware configured to perform identified computations.Processor 1755 can communicate with a chipset 1760 that can controlinput to and output from processor 1755. In this example, chipset 1760outputs information to output 1765, such as a display, and can read andwrite information to storage device 1770, which can include magneticmedia, and solid state media, for example. Chipset 1760 can also readdata from and write data to RAM 1775. A bridge 1780 for interfacing witha variety of user interface components 1785 can be provided forinterfacing with chipset 1760. Such user interface components 1785 caninclude a keyboard, a microphone, touch detection and processingcircuitry, a pointing device, such as a mouse, and so on. In general,inputs to system 1750 can come from any of a variety of sources, machinegenerated and/or human generated.

Chipset 1760 can also interface with one or more communicationinterfaces 1790 that can have different physical interfaces. Suchcommunication interfaces can include interfaces for wired and wirelesslocal area networks, for broadband wireless networks, as well aspersonal area networks. Some applications of the methods for generating,displaying, and using the GUI disclosed herein can include receivingordered datasets over the physical interface or be generated by themachine itself by processor 1755 analyzing data stored in storage 1770or 1775. Further, the machine can receive inputs from a user throughuser interface components 1785 and execute appropriate functions, suchas browsing functions by interpreting these inputs using processor 1755.

It can be appreciated that example systems 1700 and 1750 can have morethan one processor 1710 or be part of a group or cluster of computingdevices networked together to provide greater processing capability.

For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology maybe presented as including individual functional blocks includingfunctional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps orroutines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardwareand software.

In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, andmemories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit streamand the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readablestorage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals,electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

Methods according to the above-described examples can be implementedusing computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwiseavailable from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise,for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing device to perform a certain function or group of functions.Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network.The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, orsource code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used tostore instructions, information used, and/or information created duringmethods according to described examples include magnetic or opticaldisks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory,networked storage devices, and so on.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprisehardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety ofform factors. Typical examples of such form factors include laptops,smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digitalassistants, and so on. Functionality described herein also can beembodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can also beimplemented on a circuit board among different chips or differentprocesses executing in a single device, by way of further example.

The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computingresources for executing them, and other structures for supporting suchcomputing resources are means for providing the functions described inthese disclosures.

Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explainaspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of theclaims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements insuch examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use theseexamples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further andalthough some subject matter may have been described in languagespecific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it isto be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claimsis not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. Forexample, such functionality can be distributed differently or performedin components other than those identified herein. Rather, the describedfeatures and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systemsand methods within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: generating, by an onlinecontent management system, a shared-folder backed workspace thatprovides an integrated environment for manipulating content items in theshared folder and for communicating with the authorized users of theshared folder; obtaining, at the online content management system, acontent item including content for the content item and comments withrespect to the content item; storing the content item in an onlineshared folder managed by the content management system; and causing, bythe content management system, the comments to be presented in a messagestream on a workspace graphical user interface representing the sharedfolder backed workspace.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the commentsare stored in metadata that is distinct from the content of the contentitem.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein each comment in the comments isadded as a distinct message to the message stream.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein each comment in the comments includes an identificationof a user who generated the comment, and further comprising: inserting arespective message in the message stream for each of the comments in thecontent item, each respective message including a corresponding commentand identifying the user who generated the corresponding comment.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the content item is a preview image ofanother content item in the online shared folder.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the content item includes a change history that identifieschanges made to the content item over time, and further comprising:causing, by the content management system, the change history to beincluded as messages in the message stream on the workspace graphicaluser interface.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein each change in thechange history includes an identification of a user who generated thechange, and further comprising: generating a respective message in themessage stream for each of the changes in the change history, eachrespective message including a corresponding change and identifying theuser who generated the corresponding change.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium including one or more sequences of instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors, causes: generating, by anonline content management system, a shared-folder backed workspace thatprovides an integrated environment for manipulating content items in theshared folder and for communicating with the authorized users of theshared folder; obtaining, at the online content management system, acontent item including content for the content item and comments withrespect to the content item; storing the content item in an onlineshared folder managed by the content management system; and inserting,by the content management system, the comments into a message stream ofthe shared folder backed workspace.
 9. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the comments are stored inmetadata that is distinct from the content of the content item.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein each commentin the comments is added as a distinct message to the message stream.11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein eachcomment in the comments includes an identification of a user whogenerated the comment, and wherein the instructions cause: inserting arespective message in the message stream for each of the comments in thecontent item, each respective message including a corresponding commentand identifying the user who generated the corresponding comment. 12.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein thecontent item is a preview image of another content item in the onlineshared folder.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim8, wherein the content item includes a change history that identifieschanges made to the content item over time, and wherein the instructionscause: causing, by the content management system, the change history tobe included as messages in the message stream of the shared folderbacked workspace.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 13, wherein each change in the change history includes anidentification of a user who generated the change, and wherein theinstructions cause: generating a respective message in the messagestream for each of the changes in the change history, each respectivemessage including a corresponding change and identifying the user whogenerated the corresponding change.
 15. An online content managementsystem comprising: one or more processors; and a computer-readablemedium including one or more sequences of instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, causes: generating, by theonline content management system, a shared-folder backed workspace thatprovides an integrated environment for manipulating content items in theshared folder and for communicating with the authorized users of theshared folder; obtaining, at the online content management system, acontent item including content for the content item and comments withrespect to the content item; storing the content item in an onlineshared folder managed by the content management system; and inserting,by the content management system, the comments into a message stream ofthe shared folder backed workspace.
 16. The system of claim 15, whereinthe comments are stored in metadata that is distinct from the content ofthe content item.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein each comment inthe comments is added as a distinct message to the message stream. 18.The system of claim 15, wherein each comment in the comments includes anidentification of a user who generated the comment, and wherein theinstructions cause: inserting a respective message in the message streamfor each of the comments in the content item, each respective messageincluding a corresponding comment and identifying the user who generatedthe corresponding comment.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein thecontent item is a preview image of another content item in the onlineshared folder.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the content itemincludes a change history that identifies changes made to the contentitem over time, and wherein the instructions cause: causing, by thecontent management system, the change history to be included as messagesin the message stream of the shared folder backed workspace.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein each change in the change history includesan identification of a user who generated the change, and wherein theinstructions cause: generating a respective message in the messagestream for each of the changes in the change history, each respectivemessage including a corresponding change and identifying the user whogenerated the corresponding change.